How to reduce Propecia/Finasteride side effects

[ripple-effect]

I created a reply in another topic that I felt might be helpful to others using propecia.
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=68428&p=640985#p640985

Many of the side effects are caused by lowered testosterone levels, increased estrogen levels, or both. I address how you can solve these 2 issues in my reply to this topic.

Copy of my reply:

You would have to use an aromatase(increases estrogen) inhibitor along with a SHBG(lowers free T) inhibitor.

Free Testosterone wants to become one of these 3 things when it is floating around in your body:
1.) DHT
2.) estradiol
3.) bind to SHBG(Sex Hormone Binding Globulin)

Since Propecia inhibits the production of DHT, the Free T will mainly only convert to estradiol(type of estrogen) or bind to SHBG. To prevent conversion of Free T into estradiol you would need to use an aromatase inhibitor. An effective natural aromatase inhibitor I would recommend is Grape Seed Extract. This should also help prevent some of the Propecia side effects such as gyno which is caused by increased estrogen levels. A potent brand of GSE I would recommend is Nature's Plus:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00014 ... B00014G47S

Seagate is another high quality brand I would recommend(I use this brand b/c they control all steps in the manufacturing process ensuring quality):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F ... WIQA3ELE2DUI

You also need to prevent Free T from binding to the SHBG. To accomplish this I would recommend increasing your protein intake and using Fish oil supplements. This should help prevent sexual dysfunction by increasing testosterone levels.

This should result in a greater increase of Free T in your system which has many great health benefits.

 

[Wuffer]

You are suggesting using two rather unconventional methods for altering hormonal levels: grape seed extract and fish oil supplements. I'm not calling BS on your post or anything like that, since I agree with the basis of what you are saying. However, do you have any evidence that suggests that grape seed extract is effective enough as an aromatase inhibitor to be useful in this situation? I understand there are many natural ARI's out there, but from what I’ve seen, the level of inhibition is miniscule and won't actually affect hormone levels in any measurable degree.

Finasteride can increase estrogen levels by 15%, so ideally something that inhibits conversion by this much would be ideal.

 

[ripple-effect]

There are some studies that show GSE as an effective treatment for breast cancer. There is actually a study underway that started in Feb 2008 and is set to complete Jan 2012. It is being done to figure out a safe & effective dosage of GSE to treat breast cancer in women.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00566553

One exciting possibility is grape seed extract. Grapes and grape seeds contain procyanidins, a highly active subclass of flavonoids with actions similar to pharmaceutical aromatase inhibitors (AIs). These procyanidin dimers have been found to suppress estrogen biosynthesis both in vitro and in animal models

A great thing about this is that the side effects of GSE are minimal in comparison to pharmaceutical AI's.

 

[Rawtashk]

Also Zinc. I take 50mg every time I take my finasteride. IE: Every night.

 

[ripple-effect]

Yes, you can use Zinc to help offset some of the sexual side effects of propecia. It helps by optimizing testosterone production. I would recommend using bio-available forms of the supplement to obtain the most benefit.

zinc picolinate(I personally use this version)
zinc glycinate
or
Zinc Monomethionine(OptiZinc)

 

[WillNotLetItHappen]

I find this a very interesting discussion, thank you for sharing this.

May I ask you what your profession is? How do you know these things?

So fish oil and zinc can reduce sexual sides like ED, libido problems, ball ache etc? Are you successfully using these things? If they increase your testosterone, isn't then more testosterone around that can potentially turn into DHT which damages my hair?


I'm considering trying that out. It does feel weird - and it has been said before - to fight the sides of one drug with another "drug". I don't know about the effects of taking supplements in high doses for a long time. Take zinc for example. What happens with the amount the body cannot handle?

This is what I found (unfortunately this isn't very scientific):
http://www.ehow.com/how_4728820_increas ... erone.html

Thanks

 

[Toms]

Also Zinc. I take 50mg every time I take my finasteride. IE: Every night.

This is an important detail, you should have added it in your stucky post at Men's general hair loss discussions. I apologize if you have and I just didn't notice.